As we close out Spring and move into Summer and Pride Month, we at Ambush want to start by thanking everyone who made the Gay Easter Parade (GEP) a huge success. This year we raised $27,329.34 for Food for Friends, a division of CrescentCare. Since 2003 the Gay Easter Parade has raised a total of $379,846.38 for Food for Friends.
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the member of the Gay Easter Parade Advisory Board who make the fundraisers and parade possible. Members of the board include Tony Leggio, Electra City, Tittie Toulouse, Monica Synclaire-Kennedy, Anthony Lala, Jr., and Darrin Duplissey. They each help to coordinate the multiple fundraisers that lead up to Easter. They donate their time, talents and money to help make each of these fundraisers a success. It is no easy task to pull off so many events and have them all be successful, yet the members of the board not only do it but make it look easy.
I would also like to thank all of the members of community who supported our fundraisers by either attending or participating in the entertainment. A special thank you to all of our sponsors this year and to Grand Marshal’s Countess C. Alice and Chef Ron who were instrumental in raising sponsorship funds. Raising this kind of money is no small feat and is truly a community effort. On behalf of the GEP Advisory Board and Ambush we would like to give everyone a heartfelt thank you!
We would like to invite our sponsors, parade participants and community members to join us in a check presentation ceremony at The Phoenix from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 23rd.
A breakdown of funds raised and expenses is below:
Funds Raised: (Note: Event totals include sponsorship funds collected at the event) Spring Fever/Sponsorship Party @ Corner Pocket $9,760.00 ($8,250 in Sponsorships); Purple Party @ Crossing $6,775.00 ($3,600 in Sponsorships); GrandPre’s Eggstravaganza $1,507.00 ($200 in Sponsorships); Oz Drag Extravaganza $8,269.00 ($6,580 in Sponsorships); Bunnies in the Big Easy $7,592.71 ($500 in Sponsorships); The Phoenix Event $600.00; Chef Ron’s Gumbo Stop Event $800.00; Parade (carriages, walking groups, convertibles) $5,200.00; Additional Donation after parade $100.00 – Total Raised $40,603.71
Expenses: Parade Permit $206.24; Cleaning Contract $2,832.00; Grand Marshal Portraits $250.00; Credit Card Processing Fees $107.16; Dodwell House Rental $500.00; Parade Insurance $439.00; NOPD Parade Detail $4,400.28; Orleans Parish Sheriff $2,170.00; Marching Band in Parade $1,000.00; Parade Banner $169.69; DJ for Bunnies event $300; Bunnies addition expenses/awards $600.00; Workers for Bunnies Event/Day of Parade $300.00 – Total Expenses $13,274.37
Again, thank you to everyone who made the 2024 Gay Easter Parade a huge success! We are excited to once again support Food for Friends and we look forward to next year’s parade!
